With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to New Delhi, India and China appear to be one step closer to resuming direct flight connectivity between the two most populous countries in the world. With the exception of the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, India and China have had no direct flights since early 2020, just before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.
“Both sides agreed to resume direct flight connectivity between Chinese mainland and India at the earliest, and finalize an updated Air Services Agreement. They also agreed on the facilitation of visas to tourists, businesses, media and other visitors in both directions,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said in a release.
Although the two countries have not given a timeline yet on resumption of direct services, the evident signs of a thaw in the India-China relationship — notably at a time when New Delhi’s relationship with Washington has hit a few roadblocks — has built the hope that normalisation of air connectivity between India and China is imminent. Direct flight connectivity between India and China was initially suspended due to the pandemic. As the India-China bilateral relationship soured following the standoff in Eastern Ladakh in 2020 and remained frigid over the subsequent years, direct flights between the two nations did not resume despite air connectivity returning to pre-pandemic levels globally.
Resumption of direct flights and normalisation of visa issuances — demands China has been making over the past couple of years — had come up in Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s discussions with Beijing during his China visit in January. At the time, the two countries had agreed “in principle” to resume direct flights. In the preceding months, the matter featured in talks between foreign and aviation ministers of the two countries.
Airlines gear up to resume direct flights
Chinese and Indian airlines have been keenly watching the developments, and are now preparing for direct flights. Just last week, IndiGo’s CEO Pieter Elbers had said that the carrier stands ready to resume direct flights to China as soon as the bilateral arrangements between the two countries allow. Chinese carriers, too, are eager to resume direct services, it is learnt. Lack of direct flights have led to high airfares and long travel times for those flying between India and China. According to industry insiders, airlines — Chinese as well as Indian — have been looking to restart direct flights, as there is high demand for travel between the two countries.
Lack of direct air connectivity between India and mainland China, along with stringent visa restrictions, led to airlines from both countries losing out on potential passenger loads, and airlines operating from other Southeast Asian countries cashing in on the opportunity. Passenger traffic between India and China—currently solely through connecting hubs in South and Southeast Asia—is less than half of what it was in 2019.
All of it is being catered to by airlines from regions like Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. To be sure, the Hong Kong airport is not exactly considered a Chinese airport due to Hong Kong’s special autonomous status and a different visa regime than mainland China. It continues to be the leading connecting hub between India and mainland China.
Chinese carriers held dominant share
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The normalisation of air connectivity between India and China would likely be beneficial for airlines from both countries. However, Beijing appears to believe that Chinese carriers stand to gain more, as they held the dominant share of the direct flight market before the pandemic.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
